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OUAGADOUGOU, BURKINA FASO — Embassy Ouagadougou, having completely run out of any money in their budget with which to tempt TDY employees to come and temporarily fill in at their Embassy, has begun offering potential TDYers a variety of unconventional perks to try to attract them to their post. “Unfortunately, with the severe budget cuts we have no ability to offer any of the standard set of TDY benefits such as per diem, etc.,” said Barb Wallace, the Management Officer. “Our embassy is operating at less than half staff right now, so we’re desperate for TDYers, but who would want to come without per diem? Since we have no other way to try to entice them, we all tried to brainstorm and figure out what we could offer instead.”

Having decided that perhaps TDYers could be drawn to Ouagadougou with novel promises of food, fun, and face time with the Ambassador, the embassy has begun a robust outreach to potential TDYers, offering any TDYer who stays for at least 45 days:

“Outdoor market shopping and dining experiences with the section heads!”

“Seeing hippos with the Ambassador!”

“Jewelry making!”

“A delightful outing to the elephant preserve!”

Should this innovative method of attracting TDYers without offering any type of financial renumeration whatsoever actually work, other desperate embassies and consulates may well be forced to follow suit. In the meantime, Ms. Wallace was quick to up the ante. “We pooled together our own personal funds to pay for these outings with the TDYers,” she shared. “If they come to Ouaga, they will have no end of fun! The Pol Chief has promised them a potluck barbecue at his house, and the Econ Chief says his wife has gotten really good at using their new ice cream machine, so he will bring homemade ice cream to the Embassy one day!”